American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is reportedly scouting sites to open a new facility in Mumbai. The facility will carry electric cars by the manufacturer that will be imported from overseas.
The company is also reportedly looking for car charging sites with locations like Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port currently on top of the list. Tesla representatives have reportedly finished three rounds of talks with the Maharashtra Government while elaborating on their strategy.
An official at the Department of Industry who was also involved in the talks with Tesla said while speaking to the Free Press Journal that the American automaker has initiated an extensive exercise to look for locations for the sale and marketing of its cars.
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Speaking on the charging locations, the official said, “The company will speak to Tata Power and Adani Electric about charging facilities. Besides it will also seek charging facilities at Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port. The company has sought the intervention of the state government and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation so that it can kick off its plan here.”
Tesla was previously invited to establish a base in Maharashtra by Industry Minister Subhash Desai and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray in October 2020. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, who remains a vocal source for all Tesla related information has confirmed that the company will make its debut in India this year.
Addressing a recent Twitter query on whether Tesla India will take shape in January 2021, Musk responded: “No, but definitely this year.”
Read - Maharashtra Invites Tesla After Musk Hints Entry Into Country
The Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, had also confirmed that Tesla will have a distribution facility or sale centres for its automobiles in India in early 2021. He added that the company would also look into setting up manufacturing in the country after assessing the demand for its vehicles. Expressing hope in the country’s potential in the electric vehicle (EV) segment, Gadkari said, “India has the potential to become the largest EV producer in the world in the next five years”.
In other EV news, Maharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray said on Monday that the state would communicate with all relevant stakeholders to prepare an upgrade to the Electric Vehicle Policy that was set up in 2018. This will allow renewable energy industries, urban and rural development, transport and municipal corporations to serve as a starting point for the EV sector. As per the state’s Electric Vehicle Policy, partnering manufacturers are entitled to capital subsidy while the end-consumers receive an individual subsidy for adhering to the aforementioned policy.
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